Turkish Authorities Deny Service at Sumela Monastery on August 15

Turkish authorities have declined to permit a religious service at the former Orthodox Christian site of Sumela Monastery on August 15, the day set for the Dormition of the Virgin. Instead, they have announced that the service may take place a week later, on August 23.

The Istanbul-based Ecumenical Patriarchate stated, “Following a decision by the Turkish authorities, this year permission was granted to perform a Divine Liturgy in the Church of the Monastery of Panagia Sumela on Friday, August 23,” but did not provide an explanation for the cancellation of the August 15 ceremony.

Dating back to the 4th century, Sumela Monastery is a stunning monastic complex perched on a cliff above the Black Sea in eastern Turkey. It lost its official religious status long ago and is currently managed as a museum under the Turkish Culture Ministry.

Every year, the monastery attracts thousands of tourists and Orthodox Christian pilgrims.

In 2010, Turkish authorities allowed the first Orthodox liturgy since the expulsion of ethnic Greeks in 1923, a result of a population exchange between Greece and Turkey. The monastery was closed for restoration in 2015 and reopened to visitors in 2019.

Services marking the Dormition of the Virgin were held in 2020, 2021, and 2022. Although Turkish authorities initially denied permission last year, the liturgy ultimately took place.